If you have non-mowed area that is open with a lot of sun use old car tires you can get for free from your local garage. Take a weed wacker and clear out down to the dirt a circular area, place the tire in the center and then use some weed killer on the ground around the tire. Fill the tire with topsoil, add some fertlizer and plant your seeds or plants. Place a circular fence or at least 3' tall around the tire to keep animals out and the plants in plus they have something to grow against. That is about it. You can lift off the fence and weed it once a few weeks after planting to get the first growth weeds out and give the plants a good head start and though some more weeds will come I don't bother worrying about them.
The bottom lip of the tire collects a lot of water and acts like an underground reservoir so normal rain showers keep the inside dirt moist. Very low maintenance.
Especially good for tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumber, peppers and other kinds of smaller plants. Big bushy plants like zucchini or yellow squash often need a bit more room but ok if you limit each tire to only two plants or one.
Saves an enormous amount of time in preparing soil, roto-tilling, weeding and takes advantage of weed fields that have limited use as a tilled garden area. The next spring you remove the wire cage, take about four spade fulls of dirt and turn it over, pick out the loose dead material and weed roots, throw in some fertilizer and plant your seeds and plants. Put the cage back on and spray weed killer around the outside of the tire again for the new year and you are done.
